[Excerpt: Quintana abruptly ended the legislative session late Tuesday
just as the opposition appeared on the verge of mustering enough votes
to block a government-backed candidate from consideration for the
attorney general post.]
Ecuador police fire tear gas on Congress
Opposition lawmakers had refused to leave
Wednesday, March 23, 2005 Posted: 11:05 AM EST (1605 GMT)
http://64.236.16.116/2005/WORLD/americas/03/23/ecuador.congress.ap/index.html
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- Police fired tear gas into Congress before dawn
Wednesday to disperse a group of opposition lawmakers who refused to
leave after the close of a legislative session that cut short a debate
on candidates for attorney general.
Congressman Omar Quintana, president of the legislature, had first cut
off the electricity to disrupt a sit-in by about 40 lawmakers, then
authorized police to move in around 2 a.m. (0700 GMT) to force 15
remaining legislators to abandon the building.
Ecuadorean TV broadcast images of two policemen firing tear gas into the
darkened chamber and lawmakers rushing out through a side door.
Quintana abruptly ended the legislative session late Tuesday just as the
opposition appeared on the verge of mustering enough votes to block a
government-backed candidate from consideration for the attorney general
post.
The confrontation followed a surprise decree by President Lucio
Gutierrez's government declaring an extended holiday for Easter, which
falls on Sunday. But Gutierrez revoked the decree after mayors in
Ecuador's principal cities responded with a call on the population to
wage "civil disobedience" to protest the move.
The government decree had said that Wednesday and Thursday would be
added to the traditional Good Friday public holiday to boost tourism.
Opponents said the measure was designed to shift the nation into holiday
mode and pull attention away from political conflict.
Gutierrez and a government-aligned majority bloc in Congress have faced
a broad political backlash since December, when pro-government lawmakers
replaced 27 of Ecuador's 31 Supreme Court judges in a simple majority
vote -- a clear violation of Ecuador's Constitution.
The judges were replaced with magistrates mostly affiliated with the
populist, pro-Gutierrez Roldosista and PRIAN parties.
In the face of mounting criticism, Gutierrez has proposed a referendum
to ask Ecuadorean voters to approve a constitutional amendment to have a
new Supreme Court chosen by an independent panel made up of lawyers,
unions and other sectors of civil society.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.
enditem
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